Blazing Blog and UK Band Bloc Party's "Mercury in Retrograde"

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It's that time again. Bob and I are back! (Due to some now resolved computer issues, but better late than never!) We talk about the Princess of Disks (Page of Coins), Judgement, and 4 of cups. Click below to see how these cards impact your week.



Also, here's a musical accompaniment to Mercury in Retrograde! As of tomorrow, August 20, we'll be in Virgo Mercury Retrograde. (In order to read more about it, go here.) I love this song - it's rare that bands talk about astrology in their songs, but the lyrics to this one are pretty dead on. No, this is NOT a good time to sign a lease or find a new love - or start anything new.

Turn it up to eleven.



Til next time,

Marissa

(This video belongs to Bloc Party and was posted by jimbodoteleven . The copyright, the lyrics, and the song all are Bloc Party's.)
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Last Wednesday, my computer refused to do things like hold power or  charge itself. I called the Help Desk. A few more moments and I had a human on the phone. Derrick, to whom I will gladly donate a kidney or lung, was able to send me a power cord free of charge. Problem 1, solved.

However, while I was fixing Problem 1, Problems 2, 3, and 4 were erupting like boils. I even pictured them as small flash fires, proceeded by  a popping sound, something like what Westley and Buttercup encounter in  The Fire Swamp. In short order, while I was on the phone with my  computer company, my printer decided that it didn't like ink anymore and  stopped printing. The publishers were unable to open any kind of word file   I sent them. And, best of all, Florida was hit with enough wind and rain to uproot the Titanic, resulting in an air conditioning unit that dripped over the ceiling, down the wall, and inches away from a freshly laid floor.

Pop, pop, pop!

After calling A/C people, I went to Office Depot to print out what I needed. I stood there, a jump drive in one hand, 57 pages of an editing assignment in the other, with a crazed, wild eyed look on my face, as I explained to the computer guy the many ways that electronic items can break, causing a perfectly ordered life to go off the rails in a matter of hours. I may have even sobbed. I am not sure.

"It just doesn't make SENSE!" I ranted, red-eyed and panting. "How on earth could everything in my entire office break? Everything! My computer isn't charging. My printer doesn't want to use ink to print and it has brand new cartridges! And there is a three foot rain leak in my upstairs hallway, despite the fact that I've just checked the roof and the A/C unit!"

"Well," he said, sitting back and giving me his best Gandalf face. "That just sounds like a vortex of odd."

Vortex of Odd.

Or as astrologers call it, Mercury in Retrograde.

Here's the thing. I'm an astrologer. I understand the power of Mercury in Retrograde, how to harness it, how to make the most of it. And I have no normal recollection of last Wednesday or Thursday.

We were in Retrograde Shadow, which began about two weeks before the actual retrograde. Currently, we're still in shadow, but if this story is any example, I'm sure you must also be feeling the effects of the upcoming Mercury Virgo Retrograde.

For the uninitiated, a Retrograde is when a planet moves backwards in the heavens. Mercury is the planet of communication and travel. When it goes backwards, it means that written or verbal communication may be more confusing than usual. Travel plans may go awry.

We are in Mercury in Retrograde from August 20 (aprox 4pm EST) to Sept 12 (aprox 7pm EST).

Mercury in Retrograde gets a bad rap for stories like mine. It can cause computers and phones to die without warning. Whole computers may need to be airlifted to hospital wards. To keep yourself sane, here’s some tips about how to survive and even thrive during retrograde.

  • Don’t sign on the dotted line if you can help it.

  • Double and triple check travel plans

  • Double and triple check anything in writing

  • Wait out any big decisions if you can help it.


The good parts of Retro?

  • Ample chances to wait it out and redo.

  • Old friends or family coming back

  • Old communications working for you instead of against you


If want to know more about how Mercury in Retrograde will affect you, email me about a reading. I am available for in-person and distance readings. Pop over to the Contact page and drop me a line!
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In the recent manifestation class on August 5th, 2010, I discussed New Moon Manifestation, specifically the New Moon in Leo. The New Moon will be in Leo on August 9th, moving from Cancer into Leo at approximately 11:08 PM.

 

New Moons and Full Moons

 

We can use New Moons to harness fresh energy. Full Moons do the opposite - help us to get rid of old energy or close out old issues or projects. And while we're on the topic, what is a New Moon?

A New Moon is when both the sun and the moon fall in the same sign. This creates a clear flow of that sign's energy. On August 9th, both the sun and the moon will be in Leo. (Full Moons are when the moon is in the opposite sign from the sun. For example, a Full Moon would be Sun in Leo/Moon in Aquarius or vice versa.

 

New Moons and Manifestation

 

The New Moon in Leo on 8/9 will be in effect for about 2 1/2 days - plenty of time for manifestation!

 

During the New Moon in Leo, it's a perfect time to create a space to bring in any wishes or manifestations that deal with Leo energy: creativity, children, love relationships, fun, excitment, and play are just a few examples. Do you want to manifest more freedom to create? Clearer and happier relationships with children? How about the kind of lover or love relationship that you desire? Good, old fashioned fun? Use the New Moon in Leo to support and facilitate these dreams and desires.

 

Colors to Manifest With

 

If you choose to work with candles or colors, your best bet is a candle that either relates to the 4th Chakra (Heart) or is red, yellow, or orange, the vibrant colors of the sun, the ruler of Leo! Many of my clients write their favorite Leo keywords on their candle. You don't have to use a candle, however; many people also use vision boards. Some simply find a quiet space to meditate on their "Leo" desires. (Having a candle helps because it gets you physically involved in the process of creating, but intention is all about a clear, focused heart. Have a strong desire? Then you're good to go!)

 

Keywords and Colors to Manifest With:

 

Joy

Confidence

Excitement

Children

Grandchildren

Other People's Children

Fun

Theater

Writing

Acting

Heart

Heart Centered

Regal

Kings

Queens

Lovers

Love Affairs

Fireworks!

The Sun

Solar

Orange

Red

Yellow

Jan Spiller also did  great work in this area - "New Moon Astrology" deals with these issues.

 

 

What New Moon in Leo area do you want to create or improve in your life? I'm interested to hear your stories of manifestation. Shoot me a comment and tell me!

 

 

Be well,

Marissa

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On July 21, Saturn, the planet of hard lessons, seriousness, time, and teaching moves out of Virgo into Libra.

Saturn is a rigid and formal taskmaster. This planet is much like the       Schoolmaster or Old Father Time. Saturn was in Virgo from September 2, 2007 to October 29, 2009. It moved into Libra on from October 29, 2009 to April 7, and then doubled back into Virgo until now. Now, as of July 21, its in Libra until 2012.

First of all Virgo issues deal with editing, writing, health, clutter/cleanliness, health/disease (literally dis-ease). For those of you born between July 1978 and Sept 21, 1980, you saw Virgo hit your Saturn Return. I watched friends and clients reeling from Saturn Returns. During a personal Saturn Return (in the ages of 28-31), the heavens and your personal astrological chart see to it that you learn hard lessons - and that you learn them well. No ducking, running, or hiding. Where Saturn falls in your chart shows where the lessons were learned.

One woman experienced her Saturn Return in Virgo in her 4th house - the house of home and family. She lost close family members and found herself in a position of rebuilding an inherited family home -- Virgo Saturn Return in the 4th at its finest. During this process, she had to get real about her own emotional and physical health issues and learned a great deal of 'Virgo' lessons about home organization and clutter. Another woman had her Saturn in Virgo hit her in the 5th house --- getting real about yoga-inclined, healthy, tofu eating romantic interests was the order of the day. (To learn more about this go to Astro.com and learn about where your Saturn is!)

Now, Saturn's got a brand new bag, baby - and we saw this recently, between October 29, 2009 to April 7, 2010 when Saturn was in Libra, before going back to Virgo until July 20, 2010. Think about the issues that were up in relationships between that time frame. Saturn in Libra is coming back with a sequel of that energy.

Now, from July 21, 2010 to October 5, 2012, Saturn turns up the heat - it can help you, Pluto-like, to burn away things that aren't working. What is not needed will be dropped on the journey, but its here to teach us lessons. We're going back into Saturn in Libra. This means, the journey of Saturn will shift from Virgo-based principals such as editing/writing, health/disease, clutter/cleanliness, and mind/body healing connections to relationship based patterns. Do you feel your relationships and friendships are balanced? Do you give and receive what is needed to ensure positive outcomes? Are you giving too much without having your needs met? Or are you taking too much from the other person? This also plays a role in business and family relationships as well, the key word being 'relationship'. Do you have clear communication in all of your relationships or is your communication muddled? Saturn in Libra will help you in these areas. Saturn in Libra will also help you smooth out areas of legal discord - or help you get much clearer on how you should proceed.

The big lessons taught with Saturn in Libra are

  • treating yourself and your partner/friend/business partner with fairness

  • seeking balance in relationships - and learning how to create it, sometimes in situations that seem like Big Massive Lessons

  • learning where or if you compromise your own needs to meet the needs of another --- or if you are asking someone else to compromise their needs for you

  • understanding your needs - and the needs of others. For some this means noticing how radically unbalanced or unhealthy certain relationships are. For others, this will mean coming to a deeper understanding of their own needs and being clear about communication.

  • control-freak issues (common with Saturn in Libra). Do you want control of someone else? Do they want control of you?

  • accepting responsibility for our own happiness - no matter what the other partner/friend/associate is doing.


Remember, progress in this area may be slow, since Saturn takes its time to make sure we REALLY GET IT. Saturn is all about taking personal responsibility for our own lessons. Saturn says "Look, here's the hard stuff. Get in there and get to it!" And careful -- since its Saturn (also known as the Big Sourpuss), we may find ourselves getting awfully touchy and/or devoid of a funny bone around these Libran Lessons.

Don't be scared of Saturn in Libra. For some, this will bring wonderful clarity about love relationships and partners. It's a chance to really get down to brass tacks and learn what makes you tick in relationships, units, double-acts, friendships, or partnerships of any kind. Some may be guided to end marriages or relationships during this period. If this happens, that's the work of Saturn, teaching you what can or cannot sustain for the long haul -- and what can, by bringing in new chances for love, friendship, or union. Saturn is all about lessons that are well learned, sturdy, and built to last!

Copyright Happy Ganesh, Inc.. All Rights Reserved.

Photo Credit By: Zeevveez